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As one of the key initiatives in the Company's global strategic plan to drive efficiency throughout the organization, the Avis Budget PEx initiative applied process-improvement tools such as Lean and Six Sigma as well as proven best practices on more than 800 different projects worldwide in 2012. PEx team members worked continuously with field and shared-services personnel to identify and implement opportunities for savings. The projects on which they collaborated generated more than $50 million in incremental cost savings last year.

"Our ability to drive sustained, profitable growth globally requires not only that we strategically accelerate revenue growth, but also that we continue to emphasize efficiency and cost containment," said David B. Wyshner, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer. "We are thrilled that our employees across Europe joined in enthusiastically embracing the PEx initiative, and that we continue to deliver strong results globally from our efficiency-enhancement efforts."

Performance Excellence initiatives in 2012 included:

North America: After celebrating the initiative's fifth anniversary, PEx continued its focus on driving process improvement by replicating projects throughout the United States and Canada and enhancing rental processes, fleet management and vehicle remarketing procedures. Examples include reducing the time and expense associated with removing vehicles from the car rental fleet so as to increase vehicle resale opportunities and applying proven car rental best practices to lower truck rental operating costs.

Europe: The Company launched PEx in Europe almost immediately upon completion of the Avis Europe plc acquisition in October 2011, and the team there launched new projects in 2012 in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. They also implemented replication projects from North America to enhance cross-border vehicle shuttling efficiency, reduce shipping costs for vehicles being sold and reduce information-technology costs at rental locations.

Australia/New Zealand: The PEx teams in Australia and New Zealand achieved significant cost savings by completing a number of new projects and replication initiatives. Key projects focused on fleet management, fuel accountability, tire expense, yield management and printing services.

"Our focus on incremental process improvements and cost savings remains a top priority for 2013," said Mr. Wyshner. "It's particularly gratifying that continuous improvement, through Performance Excellence, has become part of our culture globally."

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